Paraphrasing and Direct Quotations
It is academically dishonest to hand in a paper that contains either a copied phrase, sentence or paragraph, or even uses another person's idea, without giving the source proper credit. It is important to understand the difference between paraphrasing (presenting another person's ideas in your own words) and using a direct quote (copied word-for-word) from a source, both of which require giving proper credit to that author or source. Both paraphrases and direct quotes are commonly used in research papers. Here are some Web sites which can help you understand the use of paraphrasing and direct quotes in a paper:
The Writing Place, Northwestern University
Purdue University OWL (Online Writing Lab)